The present study was undertaken to investigate the efficacy of a new, highly purified (purity greater than 91%), ethyl esterification product from natural eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA-E, C20:5 omega 3) in patients with type II diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Hemodynamic changes were assessed at the level of the dorsalis pedis artery using an ultrasonic color Doppler duplex system before and after oral administration of EPA-E at a dose of 1800 mg/day for 48 weeks. The cross-sectional area of the dorsalis pedis artery increased significantly from 2.5 +/- 0.2 to 3.9 +/- 0.4 mm2 (48 weeks, mean +/- SE, p < 0.05). Moreover, EPA-E improved the clinical symptom (coldness, numbness) as well as the vibration perception threshold sense of the lower extremities [from 32.1 +/- 8.5 to 16.1 +/- 4.8 (48 weeks) microns]. A significant decrease of serum triglycerides was also noted by EPA-E administration. Furthermore, significant decrease of the excretion of albumin in urine [from 24.4 +/- 3.3 to 13.9 +/- 1.8 (48 weeks) mg/g.Cr, p < 0.05]. The results of this study suggest that EPA-E has significant beneficial effects on diabetic neuropathy and serum lipids as well as other diabetic complications such as nephropathy and macroangiopathy.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Leptin resistance conferred by a combination of single nucleotide polymorphism and the adoption of a Western lifestyle in urban areas of Thailand.

OBJECTIVES: An increasing number of lifestyle disorders have emerged in response to the rapid urbanization that has occurred in Thailand. Recently, leptin resistance has been nominated as a possible marker for the onset of metabolic disorders in Asian countries. The research aimed to assess the relationship between leptin-resistance and environmental and/or genetic factors by comparing urban and rural inhabitants in Thailand. METHODS: A total of 212 age- and sex-matched subjects from an urban area (Bangkok) and from rural areas (Sai Noi) participated in the study. Anthropometric measurements, blood biochemistry, single nucleotide polymorphism analyses, and interviews concerning lifestyles and dietary habits were conducted individually. Backward elimination multiple regression analyses and least trimmed sum of square methods were used to estimate the effects of possible factors. RESULTS: A transition of staple food from rice to bread (decreased rice intake; p < 0.01 and increased bread intake; p < 0.05) was significant in urban areas. Leptin levels were higher in urban groups, with a significant difference in women (p < 0.001 in women and p = 0.06 in men), but not in men. Predictors selected for leptin-resistance in women were genotypes of UCP2, PPARg2, bread intake, living area, and smoking habit (r = 0.510); in men, genotypes of UCP2 and UCP3p, smoking habit, and rice intake (r = 0.315). CONCLUSIONS: Urban women with del/del type of UCP2 exhibited significant leptin resistance. A combination of urbanization and UCP2 genotype were considered to be responsible.

Anthropometry↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Fine needle aspiration cytology of malignant schwannoma metastatic to the breast.

A case of malignant schwannoma metastatic to the breast is reported. The tumor was found as a solitary breast lump in a 43-year-old woman and was clinically considered to be a primary tumor. Fine needle aspiration (FNA) smears of the mass were interpreted cytologically as a malignant neurogenic tumor, compatible with a malignant schwannoma. The patient did not have multiple neurofibromatoses. Eight months previously, an excision of a solitary nodule located in the left axilla had been performed in another hospital. Comparison of the histologic section from that excision with the FNA confirmed that the breast tumor was a metastatic malignant schwannoma, and the patient was treated accordingly.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The usefulness of saline-irrigated bile for the intraoperative cytologic diagnosis of tumors and tumorlike lesions of the gallbladder.

Intraoperative cytology was performed for 48 patients with polypoid lesions (36 benign and 12 malignant) of the gallbladder. The cytologic samples consisted of pure bile from 48 patients and diluted bile collected by saline irrigation from 29 patients. Pure bile gave 32 correct diagnoses (67%) and 14 diagnoses of inadequate material (29%), which contained few nondegenerated cells and made microscopic diagnosis unreliable. Inadequate material was frequently obtained in cases of cholesterol polyp (45%), tubular or papillary adenomatous carcinoma (50%) and polypoid carcinoma (17%), but not in cases of inflammatory polyp (0%). On the other hand, cytologic study of bile samples obtained by saline irrigation showed no inadequate material and only one false negative, from a case in which the cancerous focus was mostly covered with nonneoplastic epithelium. These results imply that saline irrigation succeeded in collecting many nondegenerated cells newly exfoliated from the wall of lesions and the technique is useful in the intraoperative cytologic study of polypoid gallbladder lesions.

Adenoma↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Vascular endothelial growth factor in angiosarcoma.

Angiosarcoma(AS) is a malignant tumour of the endothelium of lymphatic or blood vessels. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a specific mitogen of endothelial cells, is considered essential for the growth of many tumours including AS. We have recently treated several patients with AS; in two of them, using a newly developed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for VEGF, we sequentially measured serum VEGF concentrations. While serial serum VEGF levels reflected tumour burden, the various VEGF concentrations were within the normal range we reported previously. Furthermore, the VEGF concentrations were not remarkably elevated in AS tumour tissue compared with benign vascular lesions and hypervascular tumours.

Adult↗